I'm Back, and Just in Time for a Tutorial!

I've just returned from a wonderful vacation filled with warm ocean breezes, soothing sunshine, great shopping, and an all round fabulously fun and relaxing time with my daughter. We stayed oceanfront at Myrtle Beach and thoroughly enjoyed the area and all it had to offer.

And how sweet to return to a kinder and cooperative blogger! Before leaving I was unable to leave comments on all of your blogs but after a few quick visits already today, things seem to be working just fine.

And it's the first Tuesday (aka Tutorial Tuesday) in June and the lovely and talented Jan of
Paper Craft Pleasures
is sharing her Altered Bottle and Beeswax Seal Tutorial.

Step 1
Select a clear bottle and paint with Cowboy Glimmer Glaze. Let dry.

Step 2
Stamp image onto cardstock.

Step 3
Apply Clear Crackle to bottle and let dry.

Step 4
Add a pearl bead to a straight pin and insert into the center of the cork.

Step 5
Melt beeswax.

Step 6
Insert the top of the bottle into the melted beeswax.

A huge thanks to Jan for sharing this awesome tutorial! Do you have a fun summertime project you could show us how to make? It can be ANYTHING, really, ANYTHING at all! Let me know and I'll feature you as July's artist of the month.

Time for me to start all that vacation laundry......

Pop In for a Pop Up Card

The merry month of May....time for graduations, weddings, Mother's Day. The month of giving greeting cards and a perfect time to spotlight a talented cardmaking artist!
Diane of 1 Card Creator is sharing a Pop Up Card tutorial for May's edition of Tutorial Tuesday.
You can use any image you want, I used Websters digital papers, that made it easy to print the hot air balloons in various sizes. You can use any object as long as you can print or stamp it in various sizes. I first put the outside of the card together and set it aside. You will be working with 2 cards, an inside and an outside card.If you have a scoring board, score 3 lines on the inside card 1 at center and then 3/4" to the left and 3/4" right of center.Without a scoring board, fold your card in half, measure 3/4" from the fold and draw a line with a ruler, turn it over and do the same on the other side.I then use a Word Window punch (Stampin Up) to cut 2 slots in the folded edge using the score or pencil line to keep them even. The punch can be positioned as deep as it will go or if scissor cutting measure 1 1/2" from top and bottom respectively. (This is a 5 x 7 card but the same measurements work for any size card.)Score the line between the 2 slots on both sides so you can fold it inside.
At this point you want to dry fit your outer and inner card together making sure there is no overhang, the inner card needs to be slightly smaller.Then tape the 2 cards together. If you look closely you will see where I used the tape, I tape it together 1 side at a time.I took this picture after I had placed a few on the card already, I can't give you an amount to cut, I always end up with left overs.The first few objects are your anchors, they should be the largest because they will have to hold a lot of weight, they are placed on the pop up fold and need to be folded like this. I use ultra strength Zots to attach these to the pop up fold.From these anchors you can just keep on building out, attaching one more up or down, behind or in front of, let your creative eye take over here. You can attach these with Zots or strong dimensional foam making sure that the sticky stays in contact with only the 2 pieces you are attaching. (otherwise your card will stick together when it's closed) Also make sure the card will close without anything sticking out.I will have some of my older pop up cards on my blog today so you can get an idea of what objects can be used.

I hope you'll visit Diane and browse through her blog of wonderful cards and other paper delights. She truly is the #1 card creator! And she did an outstanding job with this tutorial. Pop up cards seemed like they would be insanely complicated to make, but Diane really took the mystery out of the process.
I also hope you're enjoying the diverse array of tutorials and new artists featured here. If you have something to share, I'd love to feature you on an upcoming Tutorial Tuesday!

Oooh La La, It's Time for a Tutorial

Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday! My guest artist for April is papercrafter and scrapbooker extraordinaire, Sandi, of Maximum Embellishment. With the "all things French" theme popping up everywhere, Sandi's French Memo Board Layout is timely and tres magnifique!

This is the perfect solution for a second page in a two page vintage or heritage layout - use those small photos which don’t make a page all in themselves but go along with your subject matter, for displaying and storing related ephemera.

Supplies:
1 12x12” Bon Marche – Graphic 45 Fashionista Line
1 6x12” navy blue cardstock
2 yards ½” navy blue ribbon/vintage seam binding
4 regular size navy brads 9 mini size navy brads
Navy ink
¼” double-sided tape - this is important, nothing works as well adhering ribbon or fabric to paper.
Zip Dry glue - this is one of the best glues to use paper to paper, it won’t cause your paper to warp and like the name it is quick.
Craft knife and a sharp “hole poker” to use on the ribbon.
Work with a good ruler and preferably on a self-healing rotary mat.
Directions:
A. Ink the Bon Marche paper on all four edges.
B. Laying the 12x12 paper flat, adhere a small piece of double-sided tape (DST) along the top left and bottom right sides. (No need to take off the top paper until you are ready to adhere the ribbon.) Center the ribbon into the top left corner diagonally and run it down to the bottom right corner.
Don’t make it too tight but don’t leave any ease. Do the same thing from the opposite corners. You will have a large X.
This is where working on a rotary mat is helpful.
Adhere a piece of DST along all edges at 6”. Run the ribbon from the 6” point on the left side to the bottom middle. Keep turning the paper and do this on the remaining three sides. As you move along the ribbons will cross at the 6” mark.
C. Cut four ½ x 12” strips from the navy cardstock for the frame. Adhere the first strip across the top of your page and the remaining strips one after another, trimming the edges to fit with a craft knife.
D. Using a sharp poker to make holes first insert the mini brads at each crisscross and the regular brads into each corner.

If you would like to tell Sandi Merci for sharing this, pop over to Maximum Embellishment. Sandi's blog is fun to poke through and you'll want to enter her RAK giveaway while you're there.

It's Tutorial Tuesday and Giveaway Time

March's Tutorial comes to us from from one of my new blog friends,
Linda, of Random Creativity.
I visited Linda during One World One Heart and commented on a tutorial she offered on her blog and invited her to visit here and check out Tutorial Tuesdays. Fortunately for all of us, she was interested in sharing it......
Grungy Copper Ornament
Gather tools:
Light Weight Copper (cut to desired size)
Stencil
Bone Folder/Burnisher
Stylus
Decorative Edge Scissors
Ruler
Adirondack Alcohol Inks
Alcohol Ink Blending Solution
Felt Blending Tool

Trim the copper sheet to desired size. Cut the copper with a tin snip or old scissors. (Take care, the edges of the copper can be sharp.)
Flatten and smooth copper surface.
Tape the copper piece securely to a padded work surface.
Tape the stencil securely to the copper sheet.
Emboss copper using the stylus to trace around the edges of the stencil pattern.
Trim the edges of the copper with a decorative scissor edger.
They will cut through light weight copper.
Emboss a line down the long sides the copper sheet using a ruler and the stylus.
Draw a row or two of squiggly lines, repeating the pattern of the edger scissors on the ends.
Drop tiny puddles of the alcohol inks on the copper. Use several different ink colors and a metallic mixative.
Spray the ink drops with alcohol blending solution.
Blend the inks and solution until you achieve the desired effect.
Attach the finished copper ornament to your project with your favorite glue or tacks.
Tip: Use trims, Stickles or glitter glue to cover the sharp edges of the copper ornament.
Isn't this an awesome tutorial? It's not difficult and think of all the embellishments, book covers for altered books, pieces for assemblages (and the list goes on), you can make using this technique.
Look at this gorgeous copper tag!!!Visit Random Creativity now and enter to win it!
Many thanks to Linda for this very unique tutorial. April's guest artist will be sharing sugar beads with us. I know I'm intrigued...
I'd be happy to feature you and your technique or project on an upcoming Tutorial Tuesday. All it takes is your idea and an email!

It's Time for a Tutorial & Giveaway

I first met Angela, of Sew Loquacious through the Bloggerette Sorority, and through our frequent visits to each others blogs, my sorority sister and I soon became friends. (It's wonderful how that happens in blogland!) She's an amazing seamstress, and as evidenced by this tutorial, an amazing mixed media artist as well. It's actually a tutorial within a tutorial, so if you have mad sewing skills like Angela (and soooooo unlike me), you may be tempted to skim. Just don't miss the image transfer technique embedded within. You'll love it! It can be applied to many different types of projects.
With many thanks, I present Angela's Journal Jacket tutorial.

I call them, "Journal Jackets." They are actually book covers, or jackets. You can use them to cover one of the Twilight books you are reading in order to avoid the weird looks by coworkers in the break room. Or, you can actually cover that journal you bought for $3.00 because it has a picture of a too cute cuddly kitten on the front. Whatever you decide to cover, here is my quick tutorial for making your very own "Journal Jacket."
Necessities
Outside fabric (the main cover); I used a decorator weight patterned piece.
Rectangular fabric scrap for "title." I used an off-white silk-like fabric because it seems to distort the stamps/fabric ink the least. NOTE: The fabric really isn't silk, but I'm not sure what it is exactly. I will refer to it as "silk" throughout the tutorial.
Fabric scraps for the image transfers.
Sewing machine and coordinating thread
Gel medium and other image transfer supplies, including images
A book or journal to cover
Measurements
First, you'll have to do some measuring. Just between you and me, I suck at taking measurements. Yes, it's true, even though my first love is sewing, I am TERRIBLE with my ruler! So, I tend to eyeball things a lot. For your journal jacket, however, just set your open book on a piece of paper and draw around it with a pencil. Now, you'll just need to add enough to each side to make the inside flaps, which holds the fabric onto the book. You'll also have to add enough to the length (and width) for the seam allowance. I use about a half an inch all around for the seam allowance. I added about 3 inches (total, including for the seam allowance) for each inside flap and about 1 inch at the top and bottom. Remember, you want to be able to get your journal inside the cover, but you also want the cover snug enough to hold the book.
NOTE: If the book you are covering has a paper jacket, use it to begin your measurements..just add a couple inches to the width for the flaps and seam allowances. Don't forget to add an inch or so for the length, too.

I usually give myself a little more wiggle room.

Image Transfers
Now that I have a pretty good idea the total size of the jacket, I can "close" it and figure out how much space I will have to embellish the front cover. For this particular jacket, I decided to use three of my favorite vintage photos. I gathered my image transfer stuff and got busy.

I'm still a beginner at this image transfer process so I've been experimenting with different methods. I've found the most success using transparencies. For this project, I printed the three images onto one full sheet of clear mailing labels. Sidenote: transparencies are expensive. I've tried to get as many images onto one sheet as possible in order to not waste an entire sheet for one photo.
Okay, back to the tutorial. Cut out each image and transfer to scraps of off white silk fabric.

Allow the transfers to dry completely. Next, I decided to jazz up the images by hand coloring or enhancing them with fabric markers and pastels. Adding color to the black and white images reminds me of vintage photos that have been hand colored. I really love the look!

If you don't want to color the images, don't! There really aren't any rules here! If you do add color, be sure to set the colors with your iron. A good idea is to place a piece of tissue paper on top of the image while ironing and don't slide the iron around as this can smudge the ink. Once the images are dry, distress with distressing ink if desired. I desired, so I did.
Placement
Separate each image by cutting them out of the fabric. Place each image onto your silk front cover rectangle. Determine the best placement.

Note that the silk rectangle is resting on top of the outside fabric. I frequently check on placement and size before actually sewing things together. I know, maybe if I measured better, I wouldn't have to do this so often. Once you are happy with placement, sew each image to the rectangle.

Embellishments
Now it's time to embellish your silk-like rectangle even more. I kept it fairly simple and decided to adhere a fabric flower and button to the top and then stamped "My Story My Life" with alphabet stamps.

I used a scrap of the outside fabric to make the flower and then just sewed a button into the middle of it. Next, just sew the button onto the rectangle. Easy peasy.
Secure Rectangle, Sew Hems and Finish
Now, secure your rectangle to the outside cover fabric. Using your book as a guide, double and triple check your placement before sewing.

Now measure (or eyeball) again, iron and then sew a double hem on the top and bottom of the outside fabric.

Now for the moment of truth...sew your double hem on the inside flap and then sew the flaps down. These are the "pockets" that hold the book cover and back.
Voila! Your own super cute...and personalized...Journal Jacket!
I hope you liked this tutorial. If you have any questions..or I failed to be clear on something, please do not hesitate to email me! If you decide to sew one of your own, please let me know! I'd love to see them!
Thanks so much to JoAnne for asking me to write a tutorial for her Tutorial Tuesday! I am very humbled to be a part of her lovely blog and am forever grateful for her invitation.
Toodles!
Angela

Angela has made a very special journal jacket for a giveaway to celebrate being the featured artist on Tutorial Tuesday this week. It's theme is Sisterhood in honor of our Bloggerette Sorority and the undeniable bond we bloggers share. Visit Sew Loquacious now to enter!

If you're in the mood to enter TWO giveaways, scroll down to the next post and enter my One World One Heart giveaway.